Cooper's 2 Week Doctor Visit

On Monday, July 9th, Cooper had his first appointment at our pediatrician's office for his 2 weeks check up.  Matt couldn't go because he was in Atlanta working, so Oma came with me.  We did take LL to this appointment - I thought it would be good for her to see someone else go to the doctor besides her.  She did GREAT at the appointment and I think it was a good choice, for sure.  However, I don't think I'll be bringing her back when Cooper has to get his shots.  ??  I think that might not help the situation any.


Anway, here were Cooper's stats when he was born.


9 lbs 5 oz
21 inches long


When we left the hospital, he was 8 lbs 12 oz.  
Then, at his two day hospital visit, he weighed 9 lbs 1 oz.  


I was very interested to see how much weight he had gained in the week and a half since his visit to the hospital.  Here are his stats from his two week appointment:


10 lbs (even)
21.5 inches long


Holy cow!!  That means that he gained 15 ounces in 10 days!  That is AWESOME for a baby this small - especially a breast fed baby. I guess I don't have to worry if he's getting enough milk!  He also grew 1/2 inch in 2 weeks!  That's also awesome!


Once they got his stats, we went back to the room to wait.  We did not get to see Dr. Blache at this appointment (which I wasn't very happy with).  Instead, we saw another girl that Matt and I have seen before but don't really care for.  I don't actually know if she's a PA or another doctor, but I do know that I don't care for her.  


She asked if I was breastfeeding, and I told her I was.  I also told her that I was wanting to start weaning him to a bottle and asked for tips on doing that.  She was NOT helpful at all (in fact, she never gave me ANY tips), and seemed very condescending in my choice to start putting him on formula.  Um - thanks for the judgement.


Another thing I asked her about was his jaundice.  At his two day appointment, they said his levels were fine.  However, two weeks later, I know that he still had some jaundice because the whites of his eyes were still tinted yellow.  She said that bigger babies tend to hold onto their jaundice longer because it's stored in their fat.  Bigger babies = more fat.  She also said that they get jaundice from their heads to their feet, but that it clears up from their feet to their heads.  His lower half (feet, legs, etc) were already pink (NOT jaundiced), so the rest of his body (up top) should start to clear up soon.


The next thing that I asked her about was his belly button.  LL's hung on for FOREVER.  And by forever - I mean until she was 7 weeks old.  No joke.  52 days.  And, yes, we counted.  Cooper's was already starting to loosen up a little, but I wanted to get her opinion on if she thought it was going to fall off soon.  Again - no real answer from her.  She did say that if it was still on when he turned one month old, we needed to let them know.  I also told her that it had been bleeding a little, and, again, no real statement from her on anything.


I told her that he was a SUPER loud sleeper.  Grunting, moaning, snoring, etc.  She said it was fine and that his lungs sounded clear.  She said that I just needed to make a mental note on what he sounds like and let them know if he starts sounding different - especially if he starts coughing.


I asked her about starting to take him out since I had been cooped up in the house for two weeks (and was starting to go crazy).  She didn't seem too happy about this and actually said that they didn't recommend taking them out much until after they were 12 weeks old.  Um - I'm sorry.  There is NO WAY  on this earth that I can stay locked up in this house until the END OF SEPTEMBER.  No way.  I would drive myself (and everyone else) crazy.  She said that if I took him out (especially before 1 month old) and he started to run a fever, he'd end up in the hospital with a spinal tap and all of this scary stuff.  Basically, she scared the bejesus out of me.  Thanks.  At the end, though, she did say that I could start taking him out if I used caution and didn't let people get up in his face and stuff.  I mean, duh.  


She checked him over and said that he looked fine.  She did say that she wanted to see us back in two weeks (normally we wouldn't come back until his two month appointment) to check his jaundice and his belly button.  Whatev.  I was so over it at this point (and all of the NON answers that I got) that I just told her it was fine.  


Overall, I'm glad to know that he's growing.  That's the easiest way to know that he's doing great.  I really wasn't too super happy about the visit overall.  Per Matt's suggestion, I think I'm going to start requesting Dr. Blache for all of our appointments.  I guess we'll see what happens when we go back in two weeks!